Kathy Bates’ Life in Photos

Kathy Bates’ Early Years

Kathleen Doyle Bates was born on June 28, 1948, in Memphis, Tennessee. She was the youngest of three daughters to homemaker Bertye and engineer Langdon Bates. After graduating from Southern Methodist University with a degree in theater in 1969, Bates left the South for New York City to pursue acting full-time. (She’s seen here in one of her earliest roles, in 1977’s Vanities on ABC.)

Kathy Bates’ Broadway Beginnings

Although Bates landed a minor role in the 1971 comedy film Taking Off, much of her success in the ‘70s came onstage. She performed in the Wayside Theatre’s traveling group in 1973 and had her first Off-Broadway gig in the 1976 play Vanities, the role of which she’d reprise in a made-for-TV production. Her first Broadway roles were in 1980, when she appeared in productions of Goodbye Fidel and Fifth of July.

As she established herself as a premier stage actress, she also started booking roles in movies and TV shows like the 1978 crime drama Straight Time and the soap opera All My Children in 1984.

For originating the role of Jessie Cates in the 1983-1984 production of the play ‘night, Mother, Bates earned her first Tony nomination for best lead actress. Her Broadway stage credits also included Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean with Cher and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.

Kathy Bates Wins an Oscar for ‘Misery’

Her mainstream breakthrough — and legacy-making performance — arrived with a haunting performance as stalker superfan Annie Wilkes in the 1990 film adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery. At the 1991 Academy Awards, she brought home the Best Actress statuette.

“I would like to thank Jimmy Caan and apologize publicly for the ankles. And I would like to say that I really am your number one fan,” she joked during her acceptance speech.

Tearing up, she concluded, “I would like to thank my family, my friends, my mom at home and my dad, who I hope is watching somewhere.”

In a 2021 interview on The Late Late Show, Bates said she has a “love-hate relationship” with Annie and Misery.

“I don’t like being identified forever and ever as the woman who hobbled this poor man into bed, but it certainly was a movie that I truly enjoyed doing,” she said. “It had changed my life.”

Kathy Bates’ Marriage to Tony Campisi

Bates met fellow actor Tony Campisi at a play when their friends had set them up. They dated for 13 years before tying the knot in 1991.

In a 1992 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Campisi explained that after marriage, there became a commitment to “try to be in the same city.”

“We try to spend as much time together as possible. But you have to go where the work is. Of course, so many demands are made on her time — and that affects me,” Bates’ then-husband told the publication. “Since the [Academy] Award, everything’s been thrown into a new gear.”

After nearly 20 years together, the couple divorced in 1997.

Continued Success on Screen

Following Misery, Bates was in high demand. For the next two decades, she made appearances in at least two films per year, expanding her filmography to include projects like 1997’s Titanic, the TV musical Annie and 2009’s The Blind Side. During the ‘90s and ‘00s, she nabbed a Golden Globe, two SAG Awards, two more Oscar nominations and 10 Emmy nods.

She also made a foray into directing, beginning with an episode of the PBS anthology series Great Performances in 1995. In 2000, she directed the acclaimed biographical drama Dash and Lilly, starring Sam Shepard and Judy Davis. Her work on the TV movie earned her an Emmy nod for outstanding directing for a miniseries or a movie.

Kathy Bates’ Battle with Cancer and Lymphedema

Bates was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2003 and breast cancer in 2012. Her second diagnosis resulted in a double mastectomy, which then caused her to develop lymphedema after her lymph nodes were removed during surgery.

She became a national spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education and Research Network in 2014 to raise awareness and find treatments for the condition, which causes swelling from lymph fluid build-up.

“I was bitter, I was depressed,” she told SurvivorNet in a 2019 interview. “I thought my career was over, I thought, ‘There’s no way, I’m done, everything is done.’ ”

In a 2022 interview with NIH MedlinePlus Magazine, Bates revealed that after losing 80 pounds and undergoing treatment, her lymphedema is “under control.”

And more recently, she has opened up about her health and body image since losing 100 pounds and not having reconstructive surgery post-mastectomy.

Kathy Bates Wins 2 Emmys

In 2012, Bates won her first Emmy Award, taking home outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for Two and a Half Men. Two years later, she won outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie as the serial killer and socialite Delphine LaLaurie in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story: Coven.

“I was sure I wasn’t going to win,” she confessed in her acceptance speech, citing an encounter in the green room and her seat assignment. 

Bates has earned 14 Emmy nominations, adding two more to her tally for American Horror Story: Freak Show and Hotel in 2015 and 2016.

Kathy Bates’ Recent Roles

She earned her fourth Oscar nomination with the 2019 biopic Richard Jewell, playing Jewell’s mother Barbara “Bobi.”

After six years, Bates made her return to television to lead and executive produce the legal drama series Matlock. Although fans speculated that she would retire after the CBS show after she called it her “last dance,” she clarified to PEOPLE that she “would love for this to keep going.”

“I often think if I didn’t do this as a living anymore, I’m sure I would face those days where I felt I haven’t paid my dues,” the actress said. “I can’t believe I’m 76, and I want the show to run for another five years. I’m going, ‘Holy crap! I’ll be 81.’ 76 and 81 seems 20 years apart to me.”